[wootersen]

Ok, so it seems that my carbs are gummed up with something. I took a ride the other day and in order to stay running I had to have the choke all the way out @ 4000 rpms. I'm no expert but it seems a carb clean is in order.



So I bought the Harbor Freight Ultrasonic cleaner (2.6 qt). I was planning on using simple green all-purpose cleaner. On the back it recommends a 1:10 mix with water but it seems kind of light to me.



Also, it seems like the carbs are only gonna fit half in there at a time with the lid open. Do you just turn them over half way through ?



Any tips would be appreciated.



John

 

[Linny]

I have the same machine. I didn't measure the cleaner. I just dumped in 1/4 to 1/2 inch of cleaner then filled the rest of the way to the fill line with water. I bet the ultrasonic action would do a good job using plain water. As I recall the cover didn't fit with my carb in place either. I turned it around several times and ran several cycles with each carb. You will be amazed at the gunk that comes out all over your carbs!

You will find the machine works well for lots of other stuff you have too!

 

[Perazzimx14]

I have the same machine. I didn't measure the cleaner. I just dumped in 1/4 to 1/2 inch of cleaner then filled the rest of the way to the fill line with water. I bet the ultrasonic action would do a good job using plain water. As I recall the cover didn't fit with my carb in place either. I turned it around several times and ran several cycles with each carb. You will be amazed at the gunk that comes out all over your carbs!

You will find the machine works well for lots of other stuff you have too!

I used a splash of Simple Green a squirt of dish soap and water. Cleaned things pretty good but I was unhappy with the finish on the carb bodies. I then used a 3 parts water to 1 part A/C condenser fin cleaner and let the carbs soak for 5 minutes (very agressive cleaner kind of like purple stuff from Lowes). Pulled them out and they were black. Used the ultrasonic cleaner with a dash of Murphys soap to remove some of the oxidation. After that I soda blasted the carbs and within five minutes the carb bodied looked as new as possible. I then cleaned them in the ultrasonic several more times changing the water/soap periodically. I would bet each carb went through 10 or 15 480 second dips. Overkill probly. But I did it over several days of my holiday break and had a good time working on the carbs with my daughter.

 

[Bryan]

I have the same ultrasonic and opted to use Simple Green Pro HD. It's purple, and only available at Home Depot. It is safe for aluminum and suggested for ultrasonics. Leaving your carbs in this as opposed to regular Simple Green (the green stuff) will not harm your them even if left in solution for extended periods of time. As far as fitting the carbs in the ultrasonic, there is no problem if you remove them from the mounts. Here is the link to the Simple Green Pro HD. Simple Green Pro HD



A lot of guys have had good luck with the regular Simple Green, but I figured if there was a way to screw up with that stuff I would find it. The Pro HD did the job for me.

 

[redcloud]

The regular simple green I thought was caustic to aluminum. I have a heated ultrasonic, and picked up a gallon of Gunk Carb Cleaner in the 1-gallon paint can from Advanced Auto for like 20 bucks...comes with a metal parts basket too. I used that stuff and man did it do a nice job. You should use in a well ventilated area should you decide to go that route. The addition of heat will liberate some of the solvents.



I just went through a complete overhaul per Larry's book. Very detailed, comprehensive, and money well spent.

http://www.donlhamon.com/carbbook.html